THE PROFESSOR continued..... Head East and more. Highlights included a rockabilly spin on Johnny Cash’s “Folsom Prison Blues,” a rock-meets-hillbilly rendition of Leadbelly/Ram Jam’s “Black Betty,” the fusion of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Sweet Home Alabama,” Kid Rock’s “All Summer Long” and Warren Zevon’s “Werewolves of London,” and original songs such as “Bullets and Bourbon” and “Lonesome Road.” Scott still has the voice, and Rattletrap Jack sounded tight and powerful, earning cheers from the audience from start to finish. I soon made my way to the Fair’s Grandstand stage for the main event. Opening the show, Collective Soul mixed new songs with classics from their catalog. Two songs in, singer Ed Roland tapped out a piano interlude that led into the group’s 1993 breakthrough hit, “Shine.” From there, Ed, his brother Dean Roland on rhythm guitar, lead guitarist Jesse Triplett, bassist Will Turpin and drummer Johnny Rabb continued with the popular FM radio tracks “Why Pt. 2” and “Heavy.” Collective Soul also did such numbers as “World Shakin’ Me Down,” “December,” “The World I Know,” “Gel” and “Where the River Flows.” Ed expressed gratitude to the audience, telling them “Thank you for giving us a life!” This led into the final number, “Run,” which evolved into a singalong that trailed off as band members departed the stage. Next was 3 Doors Down, who proudly celebrated their brand of southern hard rock. The group’s current roster of singer Brad Arnold, guitarists Chet Roberts and Chris Henderson, bassist Justin Biltonen and drummer Greg Upchurch mixed favorites with newer song material. Opening with “Duck and Run,” 3 Doors Down mixed it up between hard rockers like “It’s Not My Time,” “Going Down in Flames,” “Citizen/Soldier,” “Still Alive,” a fiery cover of Charlie Daniels’ “In America,” “Loser” and their breakthrough hit “Kryptonite,” and ballads such as “Away from the Sun,” “Be Like That” and more. Brad continuously thanked the audience and exuded a nationalistic furvor through the set, and the group’s execution was tight and powerful. When the crowd demanded an encore, 3 Doors Down answered with their hit ballad “Here Without You,” before Brad saluted veterans, police, EMS and their families by dedicating “When I’m Gone” to them to end the night.
Altoona’s Railroaders Museum has remained busy in recent weeks. The Museum hosted the inaugural Altoona First Frontier Festival in late July, featuring four local, regional and national roots-based groups. Rising local favorites RailTowne commenced the music with their mixture of modern country hits. Lead singer and guitarist Ty Ayers, guitarists Kenny Murdick and Eric Wertz, bassist Paul Rainey, keyboardist Nate Beatty and drummer Zac Grace warmed up the arriving crowd with popular tunes from Dwight Yoakam, Kip Moore, Miranda Lambert, Randy Houser, Zac Brown Band, Jason Aldean and more. Mama Corn then followed with their blend of traditional bluegrass, original folk and bluegrass numbers, grassed-up covers and more. Singer/guitarist Bruce Forr, banjo player/singer Jeremy Nelson, upright bassist Bryan Homan and dobro player, singer and harmonicat Johnny Stevens did tunes from their CD’s such as “About a Minute Ago,” “Someday Knock on Wood,” “In the High Rise,” “Sing!” and “The Hanging of Alfred Andrews,” as well as numbers from Tom Paxton, Crosby Stills & Nash and more. Next was the first Altoona appearance by Pittsburgh soul rockers The Commonheart. Ten members strong this day, The Commonheart stirred up the festival crowd with hearty, pulsing and soulful sounds as they mixed original tunes with a few select covers. Singer Clinton Clegg sank full heart and soul into his commanding throaty growl – it’s hard to avoid comparisons to the late Joe Cocker here, but Clinton has that voice! And he and The Commonheart did two songs that became classics from Cocker, the Randy Newman-penned “You Can Leave Your Hat On,” and for the finale – the fired-up Cocker take on the Beatles’ “With a Little Help From My Friends.” The group also mixed songs from their Grown CD with some newer tunes; from the CD they did “Questions,” “You Need a Man,” “Cannonball,” “Aloysius” and their version of Al Green’s “I’m A Ram.” The Commonheart’s performance was full of spirit and energy, from Clinton’s fire-and-brimstone vocals to Mike Minda’s scorching guitar solos, Lucas Bowman’s organ groan, sassy brass from trumpet man Nate Insko and sax lady Abby Gross, bright backing harmonies from Mariko Reid, Kenny Stockard and acoustic guitarist Mike DeLuca, and the steady rhythm foundations from bassist Anton DeFade and drummer Shawn McGregor. The First Frontier Festival crowd loved it, with many folks giving
Brian Filone (“Peter Gabriel”) of Tresspass (Genesis Tribute) a standing ovation at the end of the performance! Headliners The HillBenders finished the festival with their unique undertaking, as they converted The Who’s Tommy from a rock opera to a ‘bluegrass opry’ to end the day. The Missouri-based lineup of mandolin player Nolan Lawrence, bassist Gary Rea, guitarist Jimmy Rea, banjo player Mark Cassidy and their “Keith Moon of dobro,” Chad Graves pulled it off, interpreting the music of Tommy in their own string music vibe, and offering narration of the rock opera’s story line along the way. Once they completed Tommy, The HillBenders closed their set with several of their own songs, including “Gettysburg,” “On the Radio,” “Hey Boys” (co-written by Ozark Mountain Daredevils founder Randle Chowning) and more. The first Altoona First Frontier Festival was well attended and was a great event start to end, and organizers hope to grow and expand this event in the years ahead! The Railroaders Museum’s Alive at Five Summer Concert Series continued in late July with a performance by Philadelphia-based Genesis tribute Trespass. Star 69 opened the night with an upbeat set that spotlighted mostly 1980s-era rock favorites. Star 69 features a seasoned cast of Bedford County musicians: singer Dustin Reisling, keyboardist/guitarist/singer Jeff Goss, guitarist/singer Larry Grube, lead guitarist Scott Diehl, bassist Dustin Lybarger and drummer John Jones. They encontinued on page 18....
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September, 2018
Pennsylvania Musician Magazine
17